An artist’s journey of creating theme parks with Lego bricks

From 35,000 Lego Bricks, Theme Park Icons Emerge

Phil designs each scale model himself, sourcing and assembling the Lego bricks needed for each kit. These aren’t existing products he’s reselling; these are original, custom-built creations, composited from Phil’s inventory of 35,000 Lego bricks and an occasional pre-existing Lego character figure. He mails the kits to customers unassembled, giving them the opportunity to play a role in the model’s creation — a form of making art accessible to almost any age.

We spoke with Phil about his process, his fandoms, and how one Disney book set his artistic journey into motion.

It All Started with a Stretching Room

Before launching an Etsy store populated with dozens of items, Phil’s enterprise began as a hobby. His passion for theme parks started unsuspectingly enough, with a surprise souvenir his parents purchased for him at Disney’s Hollywood Studios: “The Imagineering Workout,” a book Disney Editions published in 2005 about the Disney theme park designers’ creative principles.

“On the drive back home that night, I couldn’t put it down!” Phil remembered. “I’d already been interested in reading fan sites — trying to soak up the intricate lore behind attractions like Phantom Manor and learning what a Figment was — but this was totally different. From that point forward, I pretty much knew I wanted to dedicate my life to themed entertainment, even if I didn’t even know what themed entertainment meant yet!”

Around the same time, Phil started to create makeshift Lego play sets based on Disney theme parks. These early models included a Haunted Mansion stretching room, with the gallery’s portraits made from poorly-cut, printed-out paper.

Years later, Phil’s first professional scale model was the exterior of the Worldwide Engineering Brigade (W.E.B.) from Avengers Campus, the setting for Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure at Disney California Adventure Park.

“I didn’t think too much of it at that point,” Phil told us, but he soon dived deeper into rekindling his childhood love of Lego. He followed up W.E.B. with scale models of Epcot pavilions and ride vehicles, posting photos on his social media platforms. Soon, online users started asking if Phil would ever sell made-to-order kits, and shortly thereafter, his Etsy shop was open for business.

“It was definitely surreal to me at first hearing people were interested in something I created that initially started off as a personal hobby,” Phil said. “It’s something that I feel incredibly honored about to this day and very thankful for all of the support since.”

The Process Behind Building Theme Parks with Lego Bricks

Today, Phil’s Etsy operations are more involved than printing out paper Haunted Mansion portraits. Tens of thousands of Lego bricks are organized in numbered bins along Phil’s wall (an upgrade from his previous system of recycled yogurt cups sprawled across his dining room table).

“Gathering materials is probably the most tedious part of my Lego endeavors,” Phil said. “It mainly snowballed from refining my personal collection of parts, and then little by little collecting any specifically unique parts needed from resellers to create the made-to-order kits!”

As for how he selects which attractions and structures to assemble, Phil explained, “As a theme park history enthusiast, I obviously gravitate towards defunct classics like The Great Movie Ride and Epcot Center pavilions, such as Horizons and Wonders of Life, because of how influential they were on the history of themed entertainment and our world in general. These attractions touched so many lives and created countless memories in their lifespan, and I think it’s truly special that we still talk about them decades later.”

Phil continued, “With that being said, I’m also someone that will go to Magic Kingdom just to ride Haunted Mansion and grab a Dole Whip, so I think the most known classics are absolutely as popular as they are for a reason, whether new or old.”

A Dream Called Epcot

Though it’s tough for Phil to choose his favorite creation — citing the CTX Time Rover from Dinosaur and the motorcar from Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride as worthy contenders — ultimately he’s most proud of his modular Epcot pavilions.

Phil’s love of Epcot runs so deep that he combined his previously individual Epcot pavilion kits into one larger model of Epcot’s front half, bringing it to Megacon Orlando earlier this month.

Connecting with other fans was a gratifying experience.

“Being able to see the sum of its parts laid out and hearing all of these shared Epcot stories and positive reactions to the model in person felt like a great milestone for an unassuming journey I started over a couple years ago,” Phil reflected.

Building More Than Just Bricks

Since building Lego kits is a creative activity, each customer of Phil’s Etsy products has the opportunity to make their model unique, becoming artistic partners, of sorts, in Phil’s process.

Upon receiving the Lego bricks for the PeopleMover ride vehicle, for example, one customer added the ride’s infamous safety cone placed by Cast Members to indicate an unavailable seat. Other customers integrate their kits with the rest of their Lego collection.

“The possibilities are really endless,” Phil remarked, “and it makes me incredibly happy to contribute in any way to that!”

One couple even assembled Phil’s Living with the Land ride vehicle scale model and used it as a cake topper at their wedding, having gotten engaged onboard the ride at Epcot.

Phil is thrilled to make the kits while working toward a career in themed entertainment.

“I think that there’s something so special about how something like Lego or themed entertainment connects us to each other through shared memories and our collective appreciation for storytelling,” Phil reflected. “Both of these have helped give me hope through some of the hardest times I can remember, and knowing that feeling is a shared one is refreshingly validating. I can’t say thank you enough to my family and friends that have supported me each day, and all of you for reading!”

As for Phil’s next big project, he teases, “Epic things are in store for the future!”

You can find Phil’s creations on the Horizoneer Design Etsy store, follow him on X and Instagram, and view his online portfolio.

More Fandom

Check out how other fans expressed their fandom at Megacon Orlando 2024 in our video coverage of the event: